Binder



May 2, 1939- J. MANUEL 2,157,080

BINDER Filed May 29, 19257 NIHEHIIHI,

EY M j j .4 TTORNEY Patented May 2, 1939 PATENT OFFICE BINDER JacobMandel, Brooklyn, N. Y., assigner to American Binder Company, New York,N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 29, 1937, Serial No.145,439

2 Claims.

My invention relates'to devices for binding 'magazines catalogues,folders and the like, and more particularly to binders in whichmagazines, catalogues, etc. can be individually mounted -eithertemporarily or permanently.

The present invention is an improvement on the constructions shown in mycopending application, SerNo. 127,606, filed February 25, 1937.

'It is the object of the present invention to 'provide a binderconstruction having brackets or anchoring devices which receive the endsof .mounting rods or bars and in 'which the ends of *the bars are lockedin a manner to prevent bowing of the bars or at least are restrainedfrom bowing to such an extent as to make possible the disengagement ofthe bars from one or both of the anchoring brackets.

A further object of the invention is to provide a binder having bracketsof such construction -that they can be stamped from a single piece or"sheet metal, the brackets being strong and rigid and presenting aneatand pleasing appearance.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a binderconstruction in Vwhich extremely thin bars are employed for mounting themagazines or other kmatter while at the same time the bars are preventedfrom working out of the anchoring brackets in spite of their increasedflexibility.

Another object of the invention is to provide ra construction of thetype indicated in which locking means are provided in association withthe mounting brackets and in which one end of a bar can be inserted orremoved from a bracket while the locking means is in its lockingposition, thereby rendering it unnecessary to release the locking meansof both brackets in order to mount or demount a bar.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the more detaileddescription thereof proceeds and the features of novelty will be setforth in f the appended claims.

ln a preferred form of the invention the mounting brackets are eachcomposed of a single piece of sheet metal which is bent to provide aguard plate section and an intermediate loop section which is slotted atintervals to receive the ends of the mounting bars, the slots beingpreferably open at the top so that the bars can be lowered convenientlythereinto. The looped portion of the bracket is adapted to receive alocking pin which is movable transversely of the assembled mountingbars, and the latter are provided with notches, shoulders or the likefor (Cl. 12S-38) engagement with the pin. The latter thus holds the barsagainst endwise movement and also limits or completely restrains theintermediate portions of the bars, that is, the parts of the bars aboutwhich the mounted matter is folded, H5 from bending. In consequence, thebars are compelled to support the mounted matter substantially withoutbowing or sagging, so that the reading matter is held neatly in placewhile at the same time disengagement of any of the 10 bars is reliablyprevented. Accidental displacement or disengagement of any bars uponinverting of the binder is thus insured against even in the case ofunusually heavy magazines held in place by extremely thin strips ofmetal. 15

The end portions of the bars beyond the shoulders or notches whichengage the locking pins are preferably of limited length and may besuitably rounded oli to enable an end of a bar to be inserted within itsslot and into engagev2() ment with the locking pin While the latter isin its locking position, the other end of the bar, after the'magazine orother reading matter has been folded thereabout, being then lowered intoits slot on the other bracket while the associated 25 locking pin isWithdrawn, after which the pin is moved into locking position and themagazine becomes firmly mounted on the binder.

The accompanying drawing shows by way of example a satisfactoryembodiment of the in-,30 vention. In said drawing- Figure 1 is a planview of ya binder construction in accordance with the principles of theinvention and showing a plurality of bars in mounted position, only oneof the bars being 35 shown as supporting a magazine;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section through the binder parallel to themounting bars;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan View of the mounting bracket and associatedparts, one of the 40 locking members being shown in partly withdrawnposition topermit the insertion or removal of a bar; and

`Fig. 4 is a transverse section along the line 4 4 0f Fig, 3. ,45

The binder shown in Fig. l includes the cover portions l and il and theintermediate or back portion l2 of any suitable construction, such ascardboard covered with paper cloth, leather or the like. Brackets I3 andi4 are secured, as by 50 means of rivets l5, at the top and bottom ofthe intermediate portion l2 of the binder.

YIn the form of the invention illustrated, the rbrackets i3 and lli areof identical construction and each is composed of a strip of sheetmetalms which is bent to provide an upstanding guard plate I6, areversely bent intermediate portion Il and an inwardly extending baseplate I8, the rivets i5 passing through the base plates i8. The bracketsare provided with recesses or slots for receiving the end portions ofthe mounting bars or rods I9, and in the form of the inventionillustrated, the intermediate portion Il of each bracket is outtransversely to provide a plurality of slots 29 which are open upwardly,so that the ends of the bars I9 can be positioned within oppositealigned slots by simple downward movement thereinto. In their loweredposition, the bars rest upon ledges or flanges 2I, the height of suchledges being suflicient to accommodate the maximum thickness of thematter to be mounted in the binder.

The upper looped portion of each intermediate section I7 is adapted toreceive a locking device in the form of a pin 22 which, as shown in Fig.2, is relatively nat in cross section. The pin is received snugly withinthe intermediate bracket portion l'i and in the construction shownoverlies the mounted bars I9. The pins 22 thus hold the bars againstupward displacement.

The bars I9 are preferably made very thin, considerably thinner thanappears on the drawing. The mounting bars thus do not take up anyconsiderable space and a maximum amount of reading matter can be mountedon the binder. As shown, the bars are mounted with their longer sidesrunning vertically, so that they resist bending in their longitudinalplanes and can thus support the heaviest magazines when the latter aresuspended therefrom when the binder is held with its intermediateportion or back i2 uppermost. As these mounting rods I9 are, however, ofconsiderable length and are made of iiat sheet metal or similarmaterial, they are quite flexible in a direction transverse to theirlength. Consequently, if a binder having magazines mounted thereinshould be seized by one cover and held with the weight of the magazinesexerted upon the flat sides of the bars, the latter will become bent orbowed and unless the end portions of the bars extending beyond theintermediate bracket portions I'I are made relatively long, there isdanger of disengagement of the bars from the brackets. Even when thebars are sufciently long to remain engaged with the brackets under theconditions referred to, the bending or bowing is neverthelessundesirable because it tends to distort the bars and tends to give thewhole structure an appearance of insecurity.

In accordance with the invention, means are provided ior restraining orpreventing the bars from bowing transversely of their lengths to anyconsiderable extent. To this end, the mounting structure for the bars isso devised that a more or less xed length of bar is held secure to theanchoring brackets, the arrangement being such that no additional lengthof bar can be paid out when the bar is placed under lateral stress; asthe length of the bar between the brackets is kept substantiallyconstant, bending or bowing cannot take place. In the form of theinvention illustrated, the fixed length of bar is determined by theposition of stops or shoulders which engage a portion of the bracketsand prevent endwise movement of the bar in either direction.

These stops or shoulders can be provided in a simple and inexpensivemanner by formingnotches 23 adjacent to the ends of the bars, thenotches being of such shape that they are snugly engaged by the lockingpins 22. These pins consequently hold the bars not only against upwarddisplacement but also prevent bending or bowing of the rods by keepingsubstantially constant the length of the bar between the opposite pins.It will readily be seen that when any strain is placed laterally ortransversely upon a mounted bar the outer wall or shoulder of eachgroove acts as a stop means which engages the associated locking device22, preventing longitudinal or approximately longitudinal movement ofthe end portions oi the bar out of the brackets. As no additional barlength is paid out, bowing or bending of the bar is prevented. Themounted magazines are thus held rigidly and neatly in their allocatedpositions in all positions of the binder, and this in spite of the factthat the mounting structure may all be made of thin sheet metal.

The manner of mounting the magazines or other matter will be readilyunderstood from the drawing. A bar I9 is passed through the middle foldof the magazine, shown at 2t in Fig. l, and after the locking devices 22have been, withdrawn the proper distance by engaging the bent ends 24acting as finger-pieces, the projecting ends of the bar are then loweredinto oppositely aligned slots 2li until the lower edge of the bar restsupon the ledges or flanges 2l. The bar is so positioned that the notches23 are approximately in alignment with the looped portions H. Exactalignment is not necessary as the pins 22, upon being slid into theirfinal positions engage the Walls of the notches and cam the bar into`the nal position shown in Fig. 2, in which position the locking devices22 engage the outer walls and preferably also the inner walls of thenotches.

When the bars are completely detachable from the mounting brackets, asin the embodiment illustrated in the drawing, the ends of the bars maybe so shaped that one end can be mounted upon its bracket while thelocking pin is in its operative position7 thereby making it unnecessaryto withdraw such pin. This may be accomplished by making the endportions of the bars extending beyond the grooves suiiiciently smallwith relation to the distance between the bottom of the pin 22 and thetop edge of the flange 2 I; or else the lower corners of the bars may berounded off, as shown at 25. A bar i9, as shown in dot-anddash lines inFig. 2 may be engaged under the pin 22 in the manner of a hook and thenswing downward, after the magazine has been folded thereabout, into theslot on the opposite bracket whose locking pin` has been withdrawn. Thepin of the latter bracket is then moved into locking position. A bar cansimilarly be demounted from the binder by withdrawing only one of thelocking pins 22.

In addition to providing shoulders or hook portions ior engagement withthe locking pins 22, the notches 23 also serve to space the mountingbars longitudinally ci their length with reference to the oppositebrackets. The ends of the bars are thus permanently in alignment at bothbrackets and the neatness of the structure is enhanced.

It will be obvious that the provision of means for keeping constant thelength of the mounted bars between the opposite brackets and therebyrestraining the bars from bowing, is independent of any specificconstruction of the brackets or number or arrangement of slots forreceiving the ends of the bars. Various other changes can be resorted toby those skilled in the art within the scope of the appended claims,without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A binder having devices for mounting reading matter thereon andincluding a pair of mounting brackets, mounting bars adapted to beinterengaged with the brackets, shoulders on the ends of the bars, alocking device movable over the ends of the mounted bars into positionto be engaged by said shoulders to hold the bars against bowing, theends of the bars being rounded to enable the bars to be pivoted aboutsaid locking device to release the same from or engage the same with thelocking device while the latter is in its operative position and theother ends of the bars are free.

2. A binder having mounting brackets at the opposite ends of theintermediate portion thereof, a plurality of Eat mounting bars adaptedto be received at opposite ends in said brackets With their Wider sidesrunning normal to said intermediate portion, said bars being providedWith shoulders adjacent to their ends, and locking devices movable intoposition for engagement by shoulders, and acting to hold the mountedbars against bowing, the ends of the bars being so dimensioned that anend of each bar can be inserted into the corresponding bracket intokicking engagement with the locking device or can be disengaged from thelocking device While the latter is in its operative position by pivotalmovement about said device.

JACOB MANDEL.`

